The Women's Champions League will follow the "Swiss model" from the 2025-2026 season, while the UEFA will also launch a new second-tier competition, the UEFA announced Saturday after an Executive Committee meeting in Hamburg, Germany.
"The UEFA Executive Committee approved a new format for the UEFA Women's Champions League, consisting of an 18-team league phase with three home and three away matches followed by knock-out rounds," read an official statement.
A "second European competition for women's clubs" will also be in place for the 2025-2026 season. Further details are to be released Monday.
The new format, based off a system in use for chess tournaments, replaces the current four groups of four with one group of 18.
The UWCL's format has recently faced criticism, as only four teams qualify for the group stage automatically, with the rest going through a playoff system that has eliminated some of Europe's top sides. Last-season semi-finalists Arsenal and Wolfsburg both failed to progress to the group stage this season.
